Morgan Britton and Dr. Nelson L. Adams III on Meharry School of Dentistry and the future of Black health care

Meharry Medical College is marking 150 years of training doctors and dentists, and its board chair, Dr. Nelson L. Adams III, used this year’s convocation to highlight the school’s mission and the challenges ahead. Speaking alongside Morgan Britton, a fourth-year Meharry School of Dentistry student preparing to graduate, Adams said he was inspired to deliver remarks “from the heart” after imagining what he would have wanted to hear as a freshman 52 years earlier. Britton described the speech as encouraging, emphasizing that students compete only with themselves. Adams said he attended Howard University, then entered Meharry (then called the Special Medical Program), and credited Meharry’s faith-through-service mantra for shaping graduates.